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CGRS Condemns New Executive Order Targeting Muslims and Refugees

Monday, March 6, 2017

This morning President Trump signed a new Executive Order barring individuals from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days, suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in its entirety for 120 days, and dramatically reducing refugee admissions this fiscal year. The new directive replaces the previous Executive Order issued on January 27, but duplicates its core provisions.

Throughout the election cycle and in statements made following the issuance of the first travel ban, Donald Trump and his surrogates have been explicit about the President’s intention to bar Muslims from entering the U.S. The new Executive Order incorporates revised language to exempt green card holders, Iraqi nationals, and persons with valid visas—but it remains a thinly-disguised Muslim ban. It continues to target individuals from the Muslim-majority nations of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, as well as refugees generally and Syrian refugees in particular. And it continues to endanger the lives of refugees fleeing violence and persecution, while undermining our nation’s most cherished values of due process and equal protection.

We at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) decry any and all measures that scapegoat and exclude refugees and Muslim immigrants. We strongly condemn the new Executive Order and call upon our members of government to reject the discriminatory and unjust policies it sets forth.

Take action and raise your voice in support of refugee and immigrant communities!

Call your Senators and Representatives and urge them to publicly denounce the new Order. Call (202) 224-3121 three times to be connected with your one Representative and two Senators. Sample scripts are available from Amnesty International and the Church World Service.

Tweet your members of Congress, President Trump, and the White House and express your opposition to the new Order and support for refugee resettlement. Sample tweets are available from the Interfaith Immigration Coalition.

Our Mission

The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies protects the fundamental human rights of refugee women, children, LGBT individuals, and others who flee persecution in their home countries through legal expertise and training, impact litigation, policy development, research, and in-country fact-finding.